Rory McIlroy left red-faced after skipping PGA Tour event as rival closes gap with £1.6m payday

Rory McIlroy opted to sidestep the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and US Open winner J.J. Spaun has now closed their money list gap with a £1.6million second-placed finish at the competition

J.J. Spaun has cut the money list gap between him and second-placed Rory McIlroy to under £3million with a runner-up finish at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

The Masters champion opted to skip the first FedEx Cup play-off event at TPC Southwind, having announced in November last year he would adopt a reduced schedule. On the other hand, Spaun, fresh off his US Open victory, produced a valiant second-place performance in Memphis.

McIlroy is set to feature this week at the BMW Championship, but his PGA Tour money list lead over Spaun has now been reduced to under £3m, with two lucrative events still remaining.

Heading into the FedEx St. Jude, McIlroy had comfortably qualified for the PGA Tour’s post-season, and after finishing second-to-last there the year prior, decided it would be best to give the competition a miss.

McIlroy sat well clear in second on the money list, having won just shy of £12m on Tour this year, roughly £3m behind runaway world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who has topped the list the last three years.

However, Spaun, who was bested by the Northern Irishman at the Players Championship earlier this year by way of a play-off, once again tied for a Tour event lead after the final round had concluded, this time facing Justin Rose.

Although history repeated itself, and Spaun lost to Rose in a thrilling three-hole sudden-death play-off, he still pocketed £1.6m for his exploits, bringing his seasonal tally to a whopping £9.1m.

Less than £3m now separates Spaun and McIlroy, with the BMW Championship and Tour Championship remaining. This week’s BMW has one of the largest purses on the Tour, and the winner will bag nearly £2.7m.

Yet, this is bettered significantly by the season-ending Tour Championship, of which the winner will take home almost £7.5m. Should Spaun beat out McIlroy at either of these events by some margin, while unlikely, he could leapfrog the 36-year-old.

McIlroy has topped the money list twice, in 2012 and 2014, but bragging rights are now at stake as he attempts to fend off Spaun, or even topple Scheffler.

Spaun was understandably disappointed after being beaten by Rose on Sunday, despite bolstering his money list standings, and shed light on the seven-foot putt he missed on play-off hole three to hand his English opponent the win.

“It sucks to miss a 7-footer,” Spaun stated. “Tricky read, and it pulled it a little bit. But yeah, I hung in there the best I could, and he beat me to the hole first. Just wasn’t meant to be.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into me, honestly,” he continued when asked about his resurgent season, which saw him clinch his first major title.

“I think I’m just content with what I’ve done in this game and now it’s just kind of free rolling. Just trying to win, and I think that’s a freeing mentality to have.”